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Matrix Management Wiki

1F. Systems Principles and the Matrix Management 2.0 OS

  • 1F1. MM 2.0 is an operating system for organizations that need to work in two dimensions—horizontal and vertical.
  • 1F2. The MM 2.0 OS is based on a paradigm that is very different from VM 1.0/MM 1.0.
    • 1F2i. The VM 1.0 paradigm was discussed in Section 1B, and MM 1.0 was discussed in Section 1C.
  • 1F3. The paradigm that underlies the MM 2.0 OS is called the humanistic systems paradigm.
  • 1F4. A system is the interconnection of related elements or parts organized into a whole.
    • 1F4i. A whole is the same thing as a system.
    • 1F4ii. An element is a subsystem or individual part within a system.
    • 1F4iii. A part is the same thing as an element.
    • 1F4iv. A system can also be an element or subsystem of a larger system.
  • 1F5. MM 2.0 is based on systems principles, which include:
    • 1F5i. The parts of the whole are not independent; they are interdependent.
    • 1F5ii. Every system is part of a larger system. To understand a system, you must understand the role it plays in the larger system.
      • 1F5iia. The system that is a part of a larger system is called a subsystem of the larger system.
      • 1F5iib. Figure 1.5. A subsystem within a larger system.
        large system with sub systems
    • 1F5iii. The whole is the product of the interactions of the parts.
      • 1F5iiia. The whole is not the sum of its parts. Optimizing the parts gives you a suboptimized whole.
      • 1F5iiib. The whole as the product of the interaction of the parts means that how the parts fit together in order to make a cohesive whole is key to optimization.
    • 1F5iv. To optimize the whole, you must close any gaps between parts.
      • 1F5iva. Gaps are the white spaces that exist when a) deliverables are “thrown over the wall” from one process or function to another, b) when there is a gap in communication between two or more people, c) when there is waste in a process, d) when there are conflicting priorities on a team, etc.
    • 1F5v. Gaps can be closed by creating systems of cooperation.
      • 1F5va. Systems of cooperation enable individuals and teams to work together for the greater good.
  • 1F6. Every organization is a system.
    • 1F6i. An organization is a system because all the individuals in it are interdependent.
    • 1F6ii. The reason to have an organization in the first place is because there is a deliverable to be produced (a business objective) that cannot be produced by just one person. As soon as two people are needed to produce the deliverable, a system is formed. As more people are added, the system becomes more complex.
    • 1F6iii. An organization can be called an interdependent hierarchy of systems.